Tech Noir – 信
Recommendation: ☀☁☁
信1 is an EP from Chinese2 artist Tech Noir that was the twenty-fourth release for TKX Vault. Each and every one of the Tech Noir albums explores a different concept of Chinese cyberpunk culture, which often includes esoteric themes. 信 is ten tracks in ten minutes, and as with most of the Tech Noir releases, it’s produced as a single continuous composition. This release is pretty ambient, but occasionally some lo-fi, off-kilter percussion plays (specifically on tracks four and five). The album titles ask the listener if they “trust” the other person with additional qualifiers; it nicely fits the pensive quality of the music. The subtlety of this EP demonstrates the predilection of TKX Vault toward cyberpunk experimentation with a bit of weirdness, and it rightly precedes the soul-sucking 夢に生きます by チェスマスター. Plus, it’s got some killer album artwork.
Tracklist
1. 你信任我嗎？ – (0:32)3
2. 穿過黑暗 – (0:36)4
3. 經塵 – (1:16)5
4. 通過糞 – (1:34)6
5. 通過泥潭 – (1:10)7
6. 通過蒸汽 – (1:12)8
7. 通過我的大腦 – (1:04)9
8. 通過我的心臟 – (0:36)10
9. 通過我的靈魂 – (0:52)11
10. 相信我 – (1:08)12
1Chinese translation: “True” or “Trust” or “Letter”
2According to Rateyourmusic and the artist’s Bandcamp page. Whether it’s true is anyone’s guess, since it’s vaporwave.
3Chinese translation: “Do you trust me?”
4Chinese translation: “Through the dark”
5Chinese translation: “Dust”
6Chinese translation: “Through feces”
7Chinese translation: “Through the quagmire”
8Chinese translation: “Through steam”
9Chinese translation: “Through my brain”
10Chinese translation: “Through my heart”
11Chinese translation: “Through my soul”
12Chinese translation: “Believe me”